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Surgery: Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy

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Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Technical advances in endoscopic equipment and thoracoscopic surgery have increased the popularity of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE). Recently, robot-assisted thoracoscopic and/or laparoscopic esophagectomy using the da Vinci surgical system (DVSS) (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, USA) became an attractive option. More recently, nonthoracic radical esophagectomy with both transcervical and transhiatal approaches using mediastinoscopic devices were developed. However, there is currently no established scientific evidence supporting the use of MIE as an alternative to open esophagectomy (OE). In general, MIE is associated with longer operative times but lower blood loss and lower rates of pulmonary complications such as pneumonia compared with OE. To date, two patient positions were used for thoracoscopic esophagectomy, one is left lateral decubitus position, and the other is prone position. However, the optimal MIE type, approach, and position remain unclear. Over the next few years, an ongoing randomized phase III study, JCOG1409, is expected to determine the benefits of each procedure in terms of short- and long-term outcomes.

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Correspondence to Hiroya Takeuchi .

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Takeuchi, H., Booka, E., Koyanagi, K. (2020). Surgery: Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy. In: Ando, N. (eds) Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4190-2_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4190-2_11

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